The 5 Most Embarrassing Facts About WWE And Its Handling Of Black Superstars

SportsMoney
I write about men in tights and the money they make for men in suits.

Big E and all seven black WWE Superstars in the 2019 turned in underwhelming performances.Credit: WWE.com

WWE is a global entertainment company with wall-to-wall diversity housed in both domestic and international properties.

WWE Superstars come in all shapes and sizes, colors, creeds and even ages. But as the first week of black history month concludes, it only serves as an unintentional reminder of the glaring greatness left to be desired among black WWE Superstars who are seemingly, and inexplicably, trapped beneath WWE's eternal glass ceiling

From Money in the Bank to the Royal Rumble, WWE's most prized accomplishments are embarrassingly devoid of black excellence despite the promotion's calling card of scripted entertainment with pre-determined results.

WWE and ABC's The Bachelorappear to be the last two entertainment franchises on Earth that can't be bothered with an African-American lead as each has established a certain tradition and comfort level.

WWE's unflattering statistics when it comes to black WWE Superstars raises questions as to how and why black top stars are the exception rather than the rule—and why the racial ambiguity of The Rock is essentially the only loophole that gives a pulse to the promotion's scattershot history of black main eventers.

For purposes of this article, The Rock will not be considered as a black WWE Superstar. As the son of Rocky Johnson, The Rock takes plenty of pride in his black heritage, so that's not the issue.

In honor of black history month, WWE currently has a YouTube playlist from years past celebrating its lineage of black WWE Superstars. Of the 21 videos, some of which do briefly feature The Rock in the opening sequence (a cameo I only noticed because I forgot to blink), there are zero actual featurettes on The Rock. Given his claim as arguably the greatest WWE Superstar of all time, one would think he should have been a no-brainer as a subject years ago. Instead, he makes no such appearance.

WWE is far more comfortable promoting The Rock's rich Samoan heritage, which is perfectly fine, but if he is not promoted as being of African-American descent in WWE, the same will apply for purposes of statistics in this article.

Granted, The WWE Universal Championship—introduced in August of 2016—has spent much of its lifespan being held up by consummate part-timer Brock Lesnar. But of the 22 matches and 11 WWE Superstars who have competed for Universal Championships, not one of them has even been half-black.

Currently WWE's most coveted championship on the flagship Raw brand, the notion that the promotion is going on three years without so much as a black challenger for the evasive prize is perplexing.

The Last African-American to Main Event WrestleMania was Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI

Lawrence Taylor was the last black performer to compete in the main event of WrestleMania.Credit: WWE.com

Though Mike Tyson was part of the main attraction for WrestleMania XIV, he did so as an enforcer. Floyd Mayweather and the Big Show was the big attraction at WrestleMania XXIV, but it did not close out the show.

The last African-American performer to compete in a main event match at WrestleMania was Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI. Prior to that, it was Mr. T at WrestleMania I.

If you're a black wrestler who wants to main event WrestleMania, you picked the wrong profession. The rare instance of an African-American competing in a WrestleMania main event is exclusive to boxers, actors and football players.

No Black WWE Superstar Has Ever Won Money in the Bank

Braun Strowman is the most recent winner of the men's WWE Money in the Bank briefcase.Credit: WWE.com

This is a particularly egregious statistic as literally any WWE Superstar can win Money in the Bank and be taken seriously given its well-protected legacy of molding and creating world champions. The Money in the Bank briefcase does not necessarily have to go to somebody who is ready. For better or worse, it functions as a proverbial set of training wheels for the main event.

Damien Sandow (who dressed up as Randy Savage during his final days in WWE), Ken Kennedy (out of the company), Jack Swagger (competing for Bellator) and Baron Corbin (who now wrestles in Dockers) all won Money in the Bank matches. All were taken seriously throughout their reigns.

In a fake sport where winners and losers are decided by a team of WWE officials, a minority has won once in 22 matches: Alberto Del Rio (currently out of the company).

I've been a pro wrestling columnist and video blogger for a leading national sports website since 2010. I graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a major in business economics, an emphasis in accounting and a minor in sports management. As a lifelo...